Cigar



April 9, 1935. v H. E. HOKE El AL 9 I CIGAR Filed June 9, 1934 HENRY E. HOKE, RALPH H. HOKE'.

S r/W W Patented Apr. 9, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE i 4 Claims.

This invention relates to cigars, and more particularly to the process to be performed upon a cigar after it has passed through the various stages of manufacture, which consists in punc- 5 turing the end or tip of the finished cigar and simultaneously inserting a tube therein, whereupon when the puncturing instrument is withdrawn the tube will remain lodged in the cigar by reason of its frictional fit in the surrounding tobacco, thereby to obstruct the passage of small particles of filler tobacco and of acrid juices into the mouth of the smoker; all as will be described more fully hereinafter and as claimed.

The practice of clipping the end of a cigar and so risking mutilation and tearing of the wrapper with its consequent annoyance and interference with smoking has been recognized as a disadvantage, and various attempts have heretofore been made to provide a cigar with a preformed opening in its end into which a tube may be inserted for attaining the desired objects of this invention. Such attempts have been unsuccessful, however, either because the processes for making such cigars were not adaptable to machine manufacture, or because the character of tube which had to be used was such as to endanger the smoker.

It isof primary importance that in a cigar of this kind the tube be firmly embedded in its tip and held against accidental dislodgment, for if it were drawn into the throat of a smoker serious consequences might well ensue. The necessity for such precaution has been realized in the past and it has accordingly been proposed to force the tube into a hole of smaller diameter which has first been made in the end of a cigar. It has been recognized that the tube must be of extremely rigid character to withstand such treatment by which it would tend to buckle and thus be destroyed, and as a solution of the problem the use of wood, metal, and even glass tubes has been suggested. These hard substances, however, are open to the objection that they may cause injury when the cigar is gripped in the teeth, and moreover, as in the case of glass, the mouth of the smoker may be out if the tube breaks.

The superior qualities of a tube of natural straw were appreciated, but because of its inherent weakness and inability to resist buckling it could not be forcibly inserted into a finished cigar in such a manner as to be frictionally retained in place. It was therefore proposed to fit the length of straw more or less loosely in a hole formed in the cigar filler before the outer wrapper was applied, and thereafter to apply the wrapper and fix it to the end of the tube by adhesive, so

that the adhering cigar wrapper would hold the tube against accidental dislodgment. Thus the finished cigar, while not possessing the disadvantages of those in which metal or glass tubes were used, could be made only by hand, or by machines so extensively altered as to make the cost of manufacture exorbitant.

Our invention may be practiced as an adjunct to existing manufacturing processes and machines inasmuch as the process is performedon finished cigars, and it contemplates the insertion of a paper or similar tube, such as cellophane or similar substance possessing the characteristic of lateral flexibility when formed as a tube, into the tip of a cigar to be firmly and fixedly retained by frictional fit, so that there shall be no danger either of dislodging the tube when the cigar is smoked, or of possible injury to the mouth of the smoker or to his teeth. A cellophane tube is, specifically, not a part of this invention, it being understood that it exemplifies only a class of materials which possess the desirable qualities of a paper tube when applied to the particular use intended by this invention, and which to that extent are similar to a paper tube.

It is accordingly an object of our invention to provide a tube which will not cut the mouth or injure the teeth of a smoker, but which may be inserted into the tip of a finished cigar to be frictionally retained therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process which may be performed as an adjunct either to the hand or machine processes of cigar manufacture wherein after a finished cigar is produced its tip is punctured and a tube is inserted therein and frictionally held against dislodgement.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a process for inserting a paper tube into the end of a finished cigar which consists in slipping the tube upon a pointed instrument which projects beyond it and which supports the tube internally, puncturing the cigar tip with said instrument and forcing it with the tube into the 4 but also contemplate the use of automatic machines.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a cigar with a tube in place therein, shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of theend of a cigar, showing the puncturing instrument with a tube mounted upon it penetrating the tip of the cigar. V p

Figure 3 is a view, similar to Figure 2, of the instrument being withdrawn from the cigar and leaving the tube embedded therein.

Figure 4 is a view of the puncturing instrument.

Figure 5 is a view of the tube.

Referring more particularly to the drawing:

A tube [0, preferably formed of a plurality of paper strips spirally wound in a manner well known in the art, is first slid upon a pointed instrument I I the diameter of which is only slightly less than the internal diameter of the paper tube, but which receives the tube with sufficient freedom to prevent its binding thereon.

The instrument His somewhat longer than the tube I0 and has an enlarged collar or abutment l2 against which the end of the tube bears, leaving the pointed end of the instrument projecting beyond its opposite ,end.

The instrument with the tube mounted upon it is now forced into the tip of a cigar l3 which is presented to it, and penetrates the cigar substantially along its axis to a depth at which the tube It) is embedded in it. The instrument is thereupon withdrawn from the cigar, leaving the tube firmly retained by its frictional fit in the tobacco which surrounds it.

Inasmuch as the tube has relatively thin walls itdoes not materially increase the diameter of the pointed instrument when mounted upon it or form a projection which might interfere with the ready penetration of the instrument into the cigar and mutilation of the cigar tip. On the contrary, the very slight increase in diameter which the tube-afiords is of advantage since the end of the tube in entering the cigar turns the tobacco of the cigar tip inwardly around the opening formed by the point of instrument H, so that when the instrument is withdrawn the cigar tip will present a smoothly rounded opening adjacent the exposed end of the tube, and the leaf of the wrapper is thus protected from possible tearing and damage. I

From the foregoing it will be apparent that our invention provides a process which is susceptible to use in either hand or machine manufacture of cigars, and which enables the manufacturer to puncture the tip of a finished cigar and insert a tube therein without danger of its collapse or buckling, and frictionally to retain such tube in place.

What we claim as our invention is: 1. The process of inserting a paper tube into the tip of a cigar which consists in supporting a paper tube internally while forcing it axially into a cigar, and withdrawing the support for such tube to leave it embedded in the cigar.

2. The process of inserting a tube into the tip of a cigarwhich comprisesmountinga tube upon puncturing instrument, forcing said instrument into the tip of a cigar to lodge the tube therein, and removingsaid instrument.

3. The process offinserting a tube into the tip of a cigar which comprises slidably mounting .a tube upon a pointed puncturing instrument which projects therebeyond, forcing said instrument and tube carried thereby into a cigar substantially along the line of its axis, and withdrawing said instrument to strip the tube from it by reason of the frictional fit of said tube in the cigar.

The process of inserting a tube into the end of a cigar which comprises slidably mounting a tube upon a puncturing instrument which projects therebeyond, aligning said instrument and cigar, moving them into contact so that the instrument will puncture and penetrate the cigar to a depthat which the tube will be retained therein, and withdrawing said puncturing instrument to strip the tube therefrom and leave it positioned and retained in the cigar.

HENRY E. HoKE. RALPH H. HOKE. 

